Yugur culture recorded for preservation in NW China

GANSU, Feb. 11 -- Endangered Yugur culture in northwest China's Gansu Province has been recorded for preservation, according to local authorities.

In southern Gansu, along the middle of the Hexi Corridor, north of Qilian Mountains, the Yugur ethnic minority has a population of only 11,000 people.

The heritage of the Yugurs contains folk tales, legends, proverbs and ballads, all on the verge of extinction, and the local government has spent the last two months making recordings of Yugur culture.

"I spent two days recording the 'Xizhihazhi," a song about the Yugur's history of eastward migration, and an epic story called Saremake," said researcher Du Xiuying.

The history of Yugur minority can be dated back to 3rd century B.C. As its own written language is lost, Yugur's culture has been passed by word of mouth from one generation to another.

The recordings of audio and video materials will enable the protection and inheritance of the history of Yugur minority, said Huang Jinyu, folklorist from Gansu province.